Improvement in combined time and percussion fuses for shells



UNTTEn STaTss FaTnnT Urrutia'.

FRAJCIS ALGER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

lMPHOVEMENT'lN COMBINED TIME AND PERCUSSION FUSESFOR SHELLS.

Speeilicatiou forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,553, dated September30, 1852.-

.zo @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRilN'oIs ALGER, of Boston, iu the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Iniproved Fuse i'orShells, which I call Algers Time and Percussion Combination-Fuse;77 andI do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which-Figure lis a longitudinal section ofthe fusecase k and its stopper s,showing the charged plunger c and the time-fuse c g la in perspective.Fig. 2 is a. side View of the fuse complete; Fig. 3, a side View ger c;Fig. 4, a side View, partly in section, of the head ofthe time-fuse, of-which fuse Fig. 5 is a side View. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section ofthe charged plunger. Figs. A and B are end Views ot' the fuse-stopperS,- Figs. C and D, views of the upper and lower' ends of the chargedplunger c; Figs E and F, views of the upper and lower ends 0f the headof the time-i`use.

The same letters refer to like parts in the several figures.

My invention relates, nist, to the use of a time-fuse in apercussion-shell, so as to combine the advantages of a shell exploded ina given time and one exploded by percussion.

The best method of-embodying this part ot" my invention I now proceed todescribe.

I make my fuse-case as represented in Figs.

l and 2, 7s, with a cylindrical bore the greater part of its length anda smaller conical bore the remainder. The fuse-case is closed by thestopper s, to be described more fully hereinat ter. Below this stopperin the cylindrical bore of the fuse-case I place the charged plunger c,which-I makesxnall enough to more freely in the fuse-case. Below thisplui'iger, its head in the cylindrical bore of the case, the remainderof it Vin the conical bore made to iit it, I place the iimest'use e yla, Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The charged plunger is held up near or in contactwith the stopper by any suitable interior conneet-ion strong enough forthe purpose, and not too strong to prevent its proper action on thedischarge of the shell. When the shell is to be discharged, the stoppers must `Joe secured in so that its plane surface, Fig.l A, 'may bepresented to the cap (Lof the plunger. The plunger will then bedisconnected romt c e stopper, and its lower end will rest o the p ofthe charged plun-4 f of the time-fuse,`unless (as I prefer) theconnection between the stopper and plungcris such that the plunger willretain its former situation; but whether it is connected or not, itsinertia will, on-thc start of the shell, cause it to strike and explodethe cap j' of the timefuse either by breaking or stretching itsconnection with the stopper or by a-sudden pressure equivalent to ablow, if not so connected but in Contact with the-cap f. The explosionof this cap ignites the time-fuse. y During the flight of lthe shell thecharged plunger remains in contact with the cap of the tiniefuse,used,it returnsy again to its original position, and if t-he shellstrikes before its timeffuse explodes it the inertia ot' tue plungercauses its cap to strike the plane surface of the stopper s and thus beexploded. The plunger is charged with powder, which is exploded bythecap d, (see Fig. 6,) which explosion forces out the metallic cores m m,n'liichiill small apertures bored in any suitable place in thefuse-case, leaving a passage for the iiame through the fuse-case intothe shell.

Having thus described the operation of my combination time andpercussion fuse, 'I will now give a more particular description ofthevarious parts.

The difference between the form of inyiusecase and that in ordinary usewill be readily seen from the drawings, Figs. l and 2. Ihe apertures m.m, I prefer to make about an eiglith of an inch below the lower endofthe plunger, when its cap rests against the stopper, though b and itis of yery little consequence are made, provided they are not to preventthe blowing out oftheir Cores. The size ofA these apertures is notmaterial; Au eighth of an iuchin diameter is perhaps the best. I preferto make the outer .and inner orifices of these apertures larger thantheir middle portions, in order that their cores may be securely held.The cores should be made of some metal that will not be loosened bythestart of the shell, and should be no fire from the burning time-fuse canenter the shell through the apertures.

The time-fuse shown is the welL-known Algers safety-fuse,77 with theaddition of' the head e, Figs. 4, E, and F. The lower surface w11 erethey of this head, Fig. F is bored out to receive or (perhaps). if anelastic connection is the place shown in the drawings answers well;

so placed as so tight that the vlarger Yend of the fuse, on which lit issecured. I cut a numberof longitudinal grooves (four in the drawings) onthis head as passages `for the escape of the fumes from the burningAfuse composition,"and as a further provision for this escape I boreholes 1'1 in the lower part of the head. The best place i'or these holesis in the lower part of the grooves. This I regard vas the simplest wayof providf ing for this escape, though many other ways' are obvious. Ontheupper surface of this head I put anipplc and cap f. Primi'ng may beused, though I do not iind it'neees'sary.

The charged plunger c is bored out to contain a small quantity ofpowder. (I usev six or ten grains for a shellfor a six or twelvel At asuitable place in these smaller grooves I bore a hole of little depth toreceive. the ends of the elastic cord, which I prefer as a means ofconnectingthe stopper and plunger. The stopper s is a short cylinder ofmetal with al thread eut on its outer surface, so as to screw into andclose the upper end ol-thc fuselcase. Ithas 'a deep groove turned in it.near the middle of its' length, thus making it two disks of metalunited by a core. Through one of these disks, lthe outer surface ofwhich is left plane, holes n, In are drilled, opening on the groove.(See Figs. 1 and A.) I cut small longitudinal grooves on the sides ofthis stopper to receive the cord which connects it with the plunger; andfor the same purpose I bore a hole,"y, through fthe center ofthe corewhich connects the two disks. 'A recess, t, is cutY in the other faceofthe stopper deep enough and Wide enough to prevent the cap di'romstrik- -ing its bottom or sides when that surface'of the stopper restsagainst the upper surface 0f the plunger. The holes p p in this face oi'the stopper (see Fig. B) do not extend through to the groove inthestopper, but are bored .deepenough to receive the ends of a piece Qfwire bent into a U shape, usedfor screwing and unscrewing the stopper.The elastic cord,

holding the plunger up tothe stopper, passes from the hole w, bored'inthe shallow groove y in the plunger, Fig. 6, up that groove into thegroove, g, through the hole y, and down the Vother groove, q, (all inthe stopper,) into and down lie other shallow groove, x, in the plunger,and into the other hole, w, I secure the endso'f this cord by a wedge ofsoft metalor wood. \Vhen the shell is to be transported,

" of a charged some soft substance, such asp'aper or rubber,

should be interposed between the time-fuse cap and plunger, and therecessed or safetyl surface of the stopper, Fig. B, should be pre'-sented to the plunger. ,D

My invention relates, secondly, to freeing the fuse-case from the gasesproduced by the burn--` ing of the tinie-fuse- To effect this, lIprovide' a i'ree passage for those gases (by means of the;

holes and groo."cs inthe head and plunger, as described) to the upperpart of the fuse-case.

Here they haveffrce passage through the holes in thc inner disk oi' thestopper, Figs. l and4 A,'into the space between the disks. Holes cfu aredrilled through the upper rim .of the fuse-ease opening into this space.These'holes are drilled on the side not' this upper rim, and

ha've aflip projecting over them,` so that thepassage of the shellthrough theA atmosphere will make a partial vacuum around the mouths. ofthe holes c c, and thus exhaust the' interior 1 o'f the fuse-case andfree it from the greater part of the gases as fast as they are produced,y

ment shown. The apertures, for instance, may

be made throughl the upper part of the shell itself, or, if the stopperwere lengthened so as to project above the rinipf the fuse -case,through that. i

I do not claim the combiation of a time and percussion fuse in onel'useplug as I am aware that this is not new. constructing the rear endof the plunger-case or fuse case in such manner that such rear end shallseparate the plunger-chamber from the.powdeneharge of the shell, and oneXplQ- f sion of the charge of thev plunger' bebroken away thereby, asthat, Iain aware, is not my invention; but i 'X'Vhat I do claim as -inyinvention, and detire to'securc by Letters Patent, is-

I l. The combination, inonefuse'ease orstoek,A

plunger and a time percussion- 2. The apertures oe, substantially as forthe purpose specified. Y .3. The plugged holes m m through 'the sidesofthe fuseease, for the* purpose of transmit-l ting iire to the interior'of the shell, substan .l

tially as described. l

l runners ALGER.

W'itnesses:

GoNsTnNr BRowNE, J. E. MAYNADIERL Nor do 'I' claim?.

